"I’ll Dream Of You” liner notes – by Remo Palmier I have known guitarist Monroe Quinn for some time, and am convinced that he is a musician of integrity and dedication. On this recording he has surrounded himself with excellent musicians. He composed and arranged all of the original jazz compositions as well as arranging two standards, “Secret Love” and “Embraceable You”. His original jazz compositions are well constructed harmonically. He has a decided talent for writing a melodic Jazz line that lasts. I was pleased that Monroe used Derek Smith for this session; he is one of my favorite jazz pianists. Mission: Possible A good swinging line in a medium tempo with a strong back beat for 16 bars, changing to four on bass and drums for the final 16 bars. Two fine solos by Monroe followed by two from Derek, swinging all the way. The following chorus is Monroe and Derek trading fours with drummer Rick Visone. Baker Street Blues This is another composition by Monroe that I especially favor. It has an excellent minor theme with a well measured two beat feeling. For the solos he uses a traditional 12 bar blues in C monir. All four musicians solo on this for three choruses and go back to the theme and ending. A good feeling throughout. A Wish Come True A beautiful ballad written by Monroe which features the guitar throughout. He plays a warm, sensitive solo which goes back to the bridge and coda to a solo cadence in chords by Monroe. Brand New Day A good rhythmic Bossa Nova with Monroe and Derek in octave unison for 16 bars. The bridge follows with Monroe’s solo lead. It concludes with the very effective use of double stops of thirds. Excellent solos by Monroe and Derek. I’ll Dream Of You The title piece for the album is a lovely jazz waltz. Good solos by Monroe and Derek, followed by a fine bass solo by Mike Carino. I especially like the coda with the melody line imitating the theme. Secret Love Monroe is joined by brother Alan on flugelhorn. The song starts with a solo guitar intro and continues with a unison by Monroe ands Alan. Good solos follow by Monroe, Alan and Derek. On the fourth chorus each of the soloists trade fours with drummer Rick Visone who displays a rare talent for musical rhythms on his solos. Bachology On this composition written by Monroe, he features the flute played by Gerry Cappuccio. Monroe’s love of Bach is evident when you hear the fugue lines played by flute and guitar. On completion of the duet and interlude comes into play. It accelerates with the piano and bass into a contemporary unison lead line and puts the jazz solos in motion. Monroe plays a fine solo, with an equally good solo by Gerry. The third chorus consists of the guitar and flute trading fours for 16 bars, followed by 16 bars of trading twos. The next chorus is guitar and flute alone improvising in an interlacing form. The duet continues into an 8 bar interlude which returns to the Back like fugue. Following a recap of the first theme it ends with an excellent cadence. Embraceable You Features Monroe’s guitar soloing all the way with lots of thought and good feeling. I especially like the solo ending in chords. Three On Four A funky blues written by Monroe using the standard 12 bar form. The repeated blues riff is tree beats long consecutively as in waltz meter, thus the title “Three On Four”. Monroe, Derek, Mike and Rick all take turns with good solos. I like the half time ending which is described in jazz circles as “Leaving through the back door”. Biography: Quinn’s first CD, I’ll Dream of You, which includes the talents of pianist Derek Smith, was featured on 88.3 FM WBGO radio and chosen as one of the “highlights of the year” on their program “Jazz From the Archives.” Radio host, author and Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies faculty member Vincent Pelote said of Monroe, “I’ve heard him play live and he’s fantastic.” Background Monroe Quinn began playing professionally at age thirteen. He studied for over ten years with jazz guitar great Remo Palmier. Before his death in 2002, Palmier, who recorded with such well-known artists as Charlie Parker and Sarah Vaughan, said of Quinn, “I have known guitarist Monroe Quinn for some time, and am convinced that he is a musician of integrity and dedication. ... He has a decided talent for writing a melodic jazz line that lasts.” Over the years Quinn has performed with such artists as Billy Preston, Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, Neil Innes, Joey Mallond of Badfinger, and Denny Laine from Wings and The Moody Blues. Reviews and Publications Monroe Quinn is profiled in the book, The Jazz Guitar: It’s Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1900, written by Maurice J. Summerfield and published by Ashley Mark. Author Summerfield hailed him as “...one of the most promising jazz guitar talents of the 1990s.” Quinn’s own transcriptions of solos by Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane and others have been published by the Hal Leonard Corporation. Sheet music for Monroe’s song, “Blues à la Remo,” has been published in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine, along with an accompanying web video lesson. Monroe Quinn Live In addition to his work as arranger, studio musician and solo guitarist, Monroe can be heard playing live with many artists in the tri-state area. His musical range comfortably spans pop, rock, jazz, dixieland, fusion and classical. A sensitive listener, Monroe is often found in the role of accompanist to both vocalists and instrumentalists alike. Playing in such diverse musical settings as those listed above doesn’t seem to faze Quinn. “I love all these types of music and am grateful to be able to play them live.” Can these styles be heard on his recent release, On Riverside Drive? “It’s a jazz album,” says Quinn, “but on songs like ‘By George’ and ‘A Song for Joy’ you don’t have to look too far to hear rock or classical influences. And I think that’s a good thing!”